Scrap News

Dividing and Conquering the Trash

New York Times (10/26/14) P. 1 Zax, David

Nate Morris, CEO of Atlanta-based Rubicon Global, has found a lucrative niche serving as a hub connecting businesses with trash haulers and recyclers that handle their disposable materials. Morris has gained control of the waste management contracts of major corporations, including several in the Fortune 500, since founding the consultancy in 2008. Rubicon uses a combination of big data and online auctions for hauling contracts to reduce clients’ disposal bills by 20 to 30 percent. The company also studies its clients’ trash for novel recycling opportunities, connecting businesses with the recyclers who see hidden value in their obsolete materials. Morris, an environmentalist, also has a vision of zero waste, but not everyone agrees the free market alone will increase recycling significantly. «Many materials just don’t have a market value yet, or may never have a market value,» says Conrad MacKerron, senior vice president of As You Sow, a group that promotes recycling. Still, industry observers believe Morris’ efforts could embolden entrepreneurs to invest in new recycling technologies.

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New Recycling Program Turning a Profit

Penticton Western News (Canada) (10/23/14) Fries, Joes

A five-month-old recycling program in British Columbia, Canada, is starting to face issues at some of the region’s smaller landfills. In May, Multi-Material B.C. was appointed to oversee recycling for the province-wide program. Incentives were given to local governments, including the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen, to expand preexisting curbside pickup programs. However, recycling programs at smaller landfills in Oliver, Okanagan Falls, and Keremeos collectively cost taxpayers about $6,450 a month to operate during the summer. Another concern was that Green By Nature, a company contracted by MMBC to pick up and transport recycling from landfills to sorting facilities elsewhere, prefers to use 40-yard roll-off bins for collection, which requires a capital outlay for installing stairs and safety features around the bins. In order to reduce costs, RDOS staff has recommended that the Keremeos transfer station limit its participation in the MMBC program to plastic bags, glass, and styrofoam, which are collected in mega-bags, and pay a private contractor to handle other materials. Meanwhile, the drop-off system set up at Campbell Mountain Landfill has been «very successful,» RDOS solid waste management coordinator Cameron Baughe told board members at a recent meeting. He estimates the landfill generated nearly a $1,800 monthly profit during the summer. Larger landfills also were equipped with more containers to accept new items, such as styrofoam, and allow for more thorough sorting of paper products.

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Alpine Waste & Recycling Offers New Life for Old Campaign Signs Post-Election

Denver Business Journal (10/20/14) Proctor, Cathy

Following this year’s election campaign, Commerce City, Colo.-based Alpine Waste & Recycling plans to collect the numerous campaign yard signs that will need to be disposed of in the Denver, Colo., area. The company will accept campaign signs made of metal and rigid, corrugated plastic, along with their metal stakes, until Nov. 18. Alpine started recycling election yard signs in 2007, and after the 2012 presidential election the company recycled about 2.5 tons of yard signs and metal stakes. The company expects to gather half that amount this year, according to Alpine’s Brent Hildebrand. «Eventually, the signs will be converted into plastic pellets and the pellets will be used for the manufacture of common consumer goods, such as lawn chairs, trash cans, toys, and other heavy-plastic items,» Hildebrand says. Alpine was founded in 1999 and has a staff of about 200 and more than 80 trucks. The company says it handles more than 300,000 tons of recyclable products annually.

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Dynamic Recycling Invests More Than $2 Million in Onalaska, Wisconsin, Production Facility

Area Development Online (10/20/14)

Dynamic Recycling expects to create 110 jobs by opening a new facility in Onalaska, Wis., which will accommodate the company’s need for more space. Dynamic is spending more than $2 million to renovate and upgrade the facility, which is expected to open in early 2015. The company is relocating its operations from La Crosse to the former ATK Ammunition plant in Onalaska, which has been closed since 2012. Dynamic recycles items such as IT equipment, consumer electronics, medical equipment, appliances, light bulbs, and ballasts. It most recently expanded in 2012, which saw the addition of 20,000 square feet to its 40,000-square-foot facility in La Crosse. However, increased customer demand is requiring the company to relocate to the new facility, which will encompass 170,000 square feet of the 250,000-square-foot building. «Having researched numerous state business climates, I think Wisconsin has done a great job increasing their competitive position and has certainly supported our growth over the years, so for this, we are grateful,» says Dynamic CEO Miles Harter. The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation authorized up to $360,000 in tax credits for the company over the next three years.

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New Technology Brings Revolution in Recycling Scrapped Cars

Financial Times (10/19/14) Brown, John Murray

New waste gasification technology could enable almost all of an obsolete car to be recycled or converted into energy. More than 1 million vehicles are discarded by Britons annually, and a new joint venture between Chinook Sciences and European Metal Recycling could make them 100-percent recyclable. Chinook’s waste-gasification process converts wood and other organic material, such as carpet, foam, and wood, into gas, removing the metal for recycling. The gas output from recycling facilities can be used to power steam turbines and generate electricity. In January 2006, the European Union established a recycling target of 85 percent for obsolete cars, and in 2013 Britain realized 88 percent, reports the British Metals Recycling Association. However, the target rises to 95 percent starting next January. «The only way those targets are going to be met is to get into this sort of technology,» says EMR’s Graeme Carus. «You can’t meet those targets by dismantling spare parts off a car.»

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Recycling Demand Increases for Electronic Devices

Journal Record (OK) (10/19/14) Terry-Cobo, Sarah

Tulsa, Okla.-based Natural Evolution and Oklahoma City-based HiTech Assets are seeing an increasing demand for their electronics recycling services. The companies help large businesses limit the security and environmental risks of retiring obsolete computers and other electronic equipment. However, the life cycle for some products have shortened over the years, making it harder to operate Natural Evolution efficiently and cost-effectively, says company CEO Traci Phillips. HiTech’s Rike Sandlin says it is more valuable to refurbish and repair equipment, which is sold wholesale, than to dissemble the devices and recycle the materials. Despite the challenges, Natural Evolution and HiTech are spending more money on environmental certifications to track the recycling and refurbishing process. Phillips and Sandlin say third-party certification helps protect clients and prevents recycled parts from being disposed of in developing countries. «I’m not worried about the competition,» Sandlin says. «I’m worried about raising the bar for everyone.»

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Coeymans Recycler Growing After Fire Forces Move

Albany Times Union (NY) (10/17/14) Rulison, Larry

TCI of New York has bounced back from a fire two years ago that destroyed its recycling facility in Ghent, N.Y. The utility-equipment recycler recently completed construction on a new, $7 million headquarters and operations center in Coeymans. TCI has added utility customers, doubled its workforce to 26 over the past six months, and company president Brian Hemlock is eyeing further growth. The recycler now has more space—34,000-square-feet between two buildings—and also is closer to the New York Thruway, the Hudson River, and railroad connections. Hemlock says utilities from all over the northeastern United States, stretching as far as Illinois, have TCI come in and remove, and then recycle, obsolete transformers and electric cables. TCI also has installed a compressed air foam fire-protection system Systems that exceeds code. «We wanted to do the right thing, and this is what our customers want to see,» Hemlock says. «It’s about the long term.»

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Tampa Company Finds Niche in Recycling Plastic Foam

MyFox Tampa Bay (10/17/2014) Smith, Doug

Tampa, Fla.-based 3G1V says it recycles tons of plastic foam and sends it overseas to China. «We send about 200,000 pounds a month,» says Bryan Anderson, one of the founders of 3G1V, short for “Three Guys, One Vision.” The majority of the recycled material is converted into picture frames in China and then shipped back to the United States and sold in retail stores. Anderson notes the material also is used to make car parts, CD crystals, and eye glass frames. 3G1V also is now recycling what is known as «dirty styrofoam,» which can have food particles on it. The company uses a special wash machine to clean the material and recycle it. Anderson says 3G1V is one of just two companies in the United States that recycles dirty plastic foam, which he notes otherwise would end up in a landfill. «We’re going to be targeting the school systems and go after all of their dirty styrofoam, trays that the kids throw away after their lunch hour,» he says.

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Signature Acquires Recycling Business

San Fernando Valley Business Journal (10/17/14) Golan, Elliot

Sherman Oaks, Calif.-based Signature Group Holdings is acquiring Global Recycling & Specification Alloys for $525 million. Signature is purchasing the business unit from Aleris International of Beachwood, Ohio, and will pay $495 million in cash and the remainder in preferred shares in Signature. The sale includes 18 metal and alloy recycling service facilities in North America and six in Europe. Global Recycling serves the automotive, aerospace, packaging, building, and construction sectors. Signature anticipates naming Aleris’ Recycling’s Terry Hogan, the current senior vice president and leader of business in North America, as president of the unit. Russell Barr, vice president and leader of Aleris’ recycling business in Europe, is expected to serve as executive vice president, Europe. The transaction will likely close in the next few months following regulatory approvals and fulfillment of closing conditions. «This transaction fulfills a promise made to our stockholders to seek large, accretive, well-valued acquisitions,» says Signature CEO Craig Bouchard. «It is an important step as we continue to build Signature into a significant and profitable company.»

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Plastic Bottle Recycling Increases for 24th Year

Environmental Leader (10/17/14)

U.S. plastic bottle recycling increased 4.3 percent in 2013, and the recycling rate for plastic bottles rose 0.4 percent to 30.9 percent for the year, according to the Association of Postconsumer Plastic Recyclers and the American Chemistry Council. During 2013, the collection of HDPE #2 bottles, which includes milk jugs and bottles for household cleaners and detergents, rose to 1.05 billion pounds, an increase of more than 26 million pounds from 2012. However, the recycling rate for HDPE bottles remained flat at 31.6 percent. Meanwhile, domestic processing of postconsumer plastic bottles is up, according to the report. Exports of postconsumer plastic bottle bales fell from 28.4 percent to 20.4 percent of all bottles collected, the lowest level in five years. Exports of HDPE fell 19 percent to 163 million pounds in 2013, while U.S. reclaimers imported 74 million pounds of HDPE, up from 33 million pounds in 2012. The report also says single-stream collection of household recyclables continues to grow, resulting in higher participation rates but also increased contamination. In addition, while reclaimers are capturing greater value through enhanced sorting operations, the lack of access to away-from-home recycling continues to be a barrier to increased collection.

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Louisville Company Turns Coal Byproduct Into Green

Louisville Business First (10/15/14) Mann, David A.

Charah Inc. is recycling a byproduct from a coal plant to make a gypsum-based fertilizer for farmers called SUL4R-PLUS. The fertilizer was commercialized about 18 months ago, and company officials say they are now mulling an expansion. In April 2013, the company unveiled a $14 million plant in Louisville, Ky., to manufacture SUL4R-PLUS after recognizing a market for it in the agricultural industry, according to Charah executive vice president Danny Gray, who notes the sulfur content of soil is a key nutrient that is monitored by farmers and often needs replenishing. Under Charah’s business model, the company obtains gypsum powder from the new facility and converts it into fertilizer pellets using different additives, says Scott Vanderventer, the company’s director of agricultural product sales. The pellets are sold to distributors such as United Suppliers and Southern States Co-Op, which sell the product to farmers at a cost of $8 to $14 an acre. The product is sold in several states, including Texas, Wisconsin, and Florida, as well as in Canada and the Dominican Republic. Gray says the company is considering adding a second line at the production facility. In the future it also could build production lines at other power plants it works with nationwide. Additional power plant byproducts are used by Charah to make additives in foam carpet backing, roofing, asphalt, and concrete.

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State, Scrap Metal Dealers Steeling Themselves Against Theft

Holland Sentinel (MI) (10/15/14) Hayden, Jim

Scrap metal dealers in Holland, Mich., say a new state law will help curb metal thefts. The Scrap Metal Recovery Act, which took effect in July, requires dealers to keep better records of transactions. The data will be used to create a database for metals theft. The database will help recyclers and law enforcement officials watch out for stolen material. Debbie Simmons, vice president of Fennville Recyclers in Clyde Township, notes the new law will mean more paperwork for scrap metal dealers. The added logistics of the law has prompted PADNOS to add cameras to photograph incoming loads, notes Todd Jousma, director of the company’s retail yards. “To comply with the law and meet customer service needs, a lot of programs had to be modified,» Jousma says. Nevertheless, despite the extra efforts needed to comply with the law, recyclers support it. «The recycling industry supports a uniform way of collecting metals theft data so that we can get an accurate picture of the problem and what are some of the most effective solutions to solving it,» says ISRI’s Mark Carpenter.

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Construction Recycling Center to Add Urbana Location

Daily Illini (10/14/14) Braboy, Ali

Henson Disposal and Southwind RAS are collaborating to bring the Champaign-Urbana, Ill., area its first construction and demolition recycling facility. Bloomington, Ill.-based Henson Disposal recently received a special-use permit from Urbana to start working on a site that will be the location of a 40,000-square-foot building. The construction and demolition recycling company will share the property with Southwind RAS, a Barlett-based company that recycles asphalt shingles. The new facility will give the local community an opportunity to properly handle construction and demolition debris, says Henson co-owner Tom Kirk, who notes the company is «closing the loop» by recycling demolition debris. Henson Disposal will recycle wood, plastic, vinyl siding, corrugated, concrete, brick blocks (aggregate), metals (aluminum and steel), and roofing shingles. The company says it will consider recycling drywall in the future. Kirk says Henson Disposal plans to hire two or three full-time employees and possibly 20 employees within the coming years, depending on the market.

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Company Will Bring 65 New Jobs to Duncan

Duncan Banner (OK) (10/14/14) Snyder, Rachel

Duncan Recycling & Refining plans to open a plant in Duncan, Okla., next fall. Company founder David Nichols says he chose Duncan because of his connection to the community and because the Duncan Area Economic Development Foundation made a 21,875-square-foot building available to him. The project has been in the works for more than two years. About $8 million was necessary for capital and operating expenditures, according to Nichols, a native of Velma, Okla. The plant will use technology that extracts and refines platinum group metals and ceramics from automobile catalytic converters, which Nichols discovered in Europe. «What makes us unique is we’ll combine the refining and recycling process under one roof,» Nichols says. He notes Duncan Recycling & Refining could bring 65 full-time jobs to the area by next fall and could have more than 100 employees by fall 2016.

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New Recycling Plant in Sun Valley an Economic Boost

Los Angeles Daily News (10/12/14) Wilcox, Gregory J.

Athens Services has opened a new, $50 million high-tech recycling facility in Sun Valley, Calif., with the goal of helping Los Angeles achieve zero waste by 2025. The company also has operations in Industry, Pacoima, Harbor Gateway, Irwindale, Sylmar, Montebello, and Victorville, as well as throughout San Bernardino County. The planning and permitting process for the new plant started in 2006, and construction began in 2013. The building is fully enclosed and is powered by a 200-kilowatt rooftop solar system. The equipment includes optical sorting and diversion technologies, lighting and cooling efficiency measures, bicycle racks, lockers, and electric vehicle charging stations. Earlier this year, the Los Angeles City Council approved a plan to create 11 local trash collection zones to make the trash collection process more efficient and reduce the number of trucks on the road. The bidding process for the new plan, which takes effect in 2017, began in July and ends Oct. 31. The goal is to hire 11 trash companies that will ensure their trucks use low-polluting fuel. The move is anticipated to expand recycling efforts considerably by extracting more recyclable material from the waste stream. «All of the low-hanging fruit has been taken, so now we are going after the harder stuff,» says Alex Helou, assistant general manager of the Los Angeles Department of Sanitation.

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